Ordered a tuneup kit today.....another thing checked off the list. Still need to find a starter and order some plug wires.
That’s the good side...lol. It has a rust spot at the bottom of the cowl and a dent in the roof from a tree. But it’s a pretty solid body. The floor and trunk pans aren’t rusted out.
I'm starting to be ok with defects...still...deep down there's the other side..always improve...Desotos rule.....
Great start, txturbo; 'will be watching. Amazing how a minimal chop can affect a car's look. BTW, is there a name for that "paint", moose?
Plymouths were the smallest and the cheapest of the Mopar brands. They were coupled with Chrysler at dealerships, and Chrysler's were the biggest and most expensive of the Mopar offerings. Dodge and Desoto were also paired at the dealerships. Dodge was the bigger and more expensive of those two, and the Desoto were the smaller and less expensive cars at the Dodge dealers. Biggest size and, and highest price range in large to small were, #1 Chrysler, #2 Dodge, #3 Desoto, and at the bottom, #4, Plymouth. Body parts interchange was pretty limited, but if parts would swap, Plymouth and Desoto were both smaller then Chrysler and Dodge. Not much will interchange between the 3 versions of the Hemi motors, Chrysler, Dodge and Desoto. A dist might be an exception, shaft length is a big deal, as might be the drive end match up, and how it mounts in the motor. Gene
I have two of these to put on the front. Just need to find two for the rear. These are on a 37 Ford frame I have.
Bodies are the same from cowl back. B body 8 3/4 rear ends are a relocate the spring perches deal. 3.55 and 3.73 were the common ones with the 3.5 on automatic cars. If you need space to clear the steering box, do what Chrysler did, offset it to the passenger side a couple inches. The hemi isn't that much heavier than the six , springs shouldn't be a problem. A lot of folks put Ford Aerostar van front springs in if you want newer metal. You can lower the front about an inch and a half by moving the spring pocket to the bottom of the lower A arm.
Also you will notice the shock absorbers are mounted between the upper and lower A arms. You can add Ford F 100 style upper shocks mounts to the frame if you want a bit less floaty ride.
I have a chassis that came from a 37 Ford Coupe that was hot rodded back in the 70s. I did a frame swap for the guy who drove the car in high school. He didn’t want the old hacked up frame and paid me to swap it out with a good all original chassis. I saved it and just dug it out of the bushes when I moved to my new shop. I’m using the torque thrust wheels off of the front and just remembered it has a later model Ford rearend. I don’t know if it’s an 8” or 9”. I’ll have to check it when I get back home at the end of the month. So I will probably use that in the Desoto.
Nice. There's a nice '41 Desoto coupe (rare RHD version from South Africa) here in the UK also running a hemi, although a much later version IIRC.
Has anyone else noticed that Mopar and Cadillac V8 motors of this era have the same motor mount attachment design on the blocks? If this hemi doesn’t work out I have a spare Cadillac 429.
At casual glance, all of the 50's Hemi and poly distributors look alike but there are subtle differences. The Chrysler 301-331-354 shaft projection, from the base of the distributor housing, is accepted as 4.250" and the DeSotos are 4.150 so using a Chrysler is possible as long as the shaft does not bottom out in the intermediate gear. .
Did a similar build a few years ago. 40 dodge coupe. 392 hemi, torqueflite, 8 3/4 rear, 83 mirada front torsion bar suspension. You'll have fun with that project!
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